President accepts Naqvi, RCP Singh's resignation; Irani, Scindia given additional responsibility

New Delhi, July 6: President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignations of Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ram Chandra Prasad Singh with immediate effect, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement on Wednesday.

Minority Affairs Minister Naqvi and Steel Minister Singh submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, a day before the completion of their Rajya Sabha term.

According to the Rashtrapati Bhavan statement, "...as advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Smriti Zubin Irani, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in addition to her existing portfolio."

Cabinet Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has been assigned the charge of the Ministry of Steel, in addition to his existing portfolio.

Earlier in the day, Modi had lauded both Naqvi and Singh during the cabinet meeting for their contribution to the country during their tenure, in an apparent suggestion of it being their final cabinet meeting, sources informed PTI.

Recently, several BJP leaders were elected to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. However, the party did not give a Rajya Sabha ticket to Naqvi. RCP Singh, who comes from an ally party in Bihar, JD(U), had sworn in as a minister in the Modi government a year ago on July 7, 2021.

However, in the recent announcement of the Rajya Sabha tickets, Nitish Kumar denied RCP Singh's election to the Rajya Sabha.

A Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant from Tripura after the resignation of Manik Saha who has recently elected to the Tripura Assembly. Besides this, there is no Rajya Sabha seat which is going to be vacant in the next few months.